Authorities ID teen killed by train

Dec. 29, 2009

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Early Wednesday morning in Fullerton, a day laborer left a star-handled light wand, stuck in a water bottle, as a memorial to the 15-year-old girl who was killed by a freight train Tuesday afternoon. The Orange County Coroner's Office identified the girl as Savannah Rose White. Police said the girl and her father both live in Fullerton. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fullerton police officer work behind a privacy screen after a 15-year-old girl was struck and killed by a freight train when she apparently stepped in its path Tuesday afternoon. Her father is reported to have seen the tragedy after he and his daughter argued. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A Fullerton police officer, left, consoles a distraught father after he witnessed his 15 year old daughter being struck and killed by a freight train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Wednesday afternoon flowers and balloons were left by the train tracks near where a 15-year-old girl was struck and killed by a freight train Tuesday afternoon. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fullerton police officers begin to investigate the death of person struck by a train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A police officer crosses over the stopped train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues, in Fullerton. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Day laborers look on at Home Depot, near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues, Fullerton, after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a train. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fullerton police officers begin to investigate the death of person struck by a train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A Fullerton police investigator walks past the plastic covered body of a pedestrian killed after being struck by a freight train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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An Orange County Fire Authority truck that responded to the scene of a person struck by a train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues, sits idle unable to help. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fullerton police officer search the train tracks for evidence after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a freight train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A freight train is stopped after a pedestrian was struck and killed near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues. The train was blocking both Placentia Avenue and State College Boulevard during the investigation. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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An unidentified woman consoles the father of a 15-year-old girl who stepped in front of a freight train near the intersection of Placentia and Fender Avenues, Fullerton. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Early Wednesday morning in Fullerton, a day laborer left a star-handled light wand, stuck in a water bottle, as a memorial to the 15-year-old girl who was killed by a freight train Tuesday afternoon. The Orange County Coroner's Office identified the girl as Savannah Rose White. Police said the girl and her father both live in Fullerton. BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

PLACENTIA – A 15-year-old girl was struck and killed by a freight train Tuesday afternoon when she apparently stepped in its path, police said.

The initial investigation revealed there was an argument between the girl and her father moments before she was struck by the train, Fullerton police Lt. Craig Brower said.

The girl's father witnessed his daughter being struck by the train, which was headed east, Brower said.

The Orange County Coroner's Office identified the girl as Savannah Rose White. Police said the girl and her father both live in Fullerton.

Shortly before 1 p.m., Placentia police got a call regarding a person hit by a train at Placentia and Crowther avenues, said Placentia police Lt. Eric Point. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks cross Placentia Avenue, where the city limits of Fullerton and Placentia meet.

Fullerton police Lt. Alex Bastreri, who is overseeing the investigation, said White's death is being investigated as an accident. Point initially said the teenager appeared to have committed suicide.

"At some point during the conversation, she was struck by the train," Bastreri said. "I don't know if she was trying to beat the train or if she stepped out in front of it intentionally. ... At this point, it doesn't seem like there was anything suspicious or criminal in nature."

The incident is being investigated by the Fullerton Police Department because it occurred in its jurisdiction, Point said.

Eyewitness Julian Soto said he was nearby visiting friends when the incident happened. He said he saw White walk to the tracks from a Sam's Club or Home Depot in the area.

"It seemed to me she was upset, angry," Soto said in Spanish. Soto said he also saw a boy who appeared to be about 8 years old who also seemed to be upset, and an older man, whom police later identified as White's father.

The man looked traumatized, Soto said. The girl wandered the tracks for about 30 minutes before she was hit by the train, he added.

"To me," Soto said, "it was suicide."

Bastreri said officers still needed to interview witnesses and family members before making that determination: "It's hard to say what her intention was."

According to Federal Railroad Administration records, there have been 19 deaths and injuries along Orange County's tracks since 2006.

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